Guillermo Portabales, song-writer, performer

The birthdate of this Cuban singer seems to be more certain than his date of death.  Debate about it has been strong.  The two dates are 1911 and 1970.  He dedicated himself to songwriting from the earliest years and continued after he had left Cuba for Puerto Rico in 1953.  He was a guitarist of note.

From his early career he sang in the various styles of traditional local music, soon discovering that guajira was most popular.  The word refers to the peasant and his world, the joys, the sorrows.  In view of this I find it strange that Portabales was considered “an enemy of the state” after the 1959 revolution which had had pretensions to socialism.  By this time he had, of course, toured the Americas extensively and was greatly loved.

Here and there we find endearing love songs.  His lyrics also celebrate the landscape of Cuba as well as that of Puerto Rico.

The murmuring stream

Parted by the moon

When the silver rays

Go to its depths

• From El Arroyo que murmura

Try, if you will, to stand still when you hear a Portabales song in full swing, especially the title song Le Carratera.

 

Will

www.willwilltravel.wordpress.com

Les Semboules, Antibes

December, 2019

 

Source

Wikipedia Guillermo Portabales

Sleeve notes on “Le Carratera”

 

Images

From the sleeve “Le Carratera”